


The most clichéd tropes (and everything in between)

by Pumpkinnubbin



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, Fake Dating, Getting Stood Up, Jealousy, there's only one bed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2020-10-19 21:10:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20663840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pumpkinnubbin/pseuds/Pumpkinnubbin
Summary: A collection of oneshots based on tropes or clichés in storytelling/fics. Rated M for safety and possible future chapters.Feel free to drop me ideas for this as well (or tell me if you think something doesn't belong)Latest update: fake dating





	1. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha is jealous, except it's one of the few emotions she can't identify on her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently this is what happens when my brain shouts at me at 1am to write Natasha being clueless about her own jealousy.
> 
> Rated G

At first, Natasha doesn’t understand the feeling that settles deep in her chest whenever she sees Maria talking to someone else. She blinks the first time it happens, at a meeting that has Stark not so subtly flirt with Maria and her both every chance he gets. Maria talks to other people all the time. It comes with the job. It’s never been an issue before. So she blinks until the feeling goes away and she can think clearly once again. But then it happens again two days later when she spots Maria and Steve having a friendly chat. She overhears them talking about books Steve should try to read when he has the time and the smile he gives Maria makes her want to punch him. She frowns at her internal reaction. She doesn’t get it. She’s never felt anything like it before. This isn’t like the protectiveness she feels over Clint. Natasha doesn’t like not understanding feelings, especially when they’re her own. It leaves her too open, too vulnerable. She decides to ignore it. She’s a trained spy and assassin; tuning out her feelings is what she does best.

It turns out it isn’t what she does best. Not even a week later she feels that same ache in her chest when she hears Maria laugh at a story Thor tells and when Thor rests his big hand on Maria’s shoulder, Natasha feels like she can’t breathe. She turns the other way and leaves, runs to her room to try and breathe. She doesn’t understand what’s happening. The Avengers are Maria’s friends as much as they are Natasha’s and it’s never been a problem before. She focuses and tries to calm her heart by taking a few deep breaths and holding them for several seconds before releasing them again. What is wrong with her?

She avoids Maria. It’s painfully obvious but Natasha hates feeling like she does whenever she sees the brunette with the guys. She doesn’t know how to act or react and that’s a dangerous thing for her. So she leaves the room when Maria enters it, turns back on her heel when she’s about to step into the same space as her, and tries her best to evade her at work. She doesn’t like the tug in her chest that peakes up around Maria.

She manages fine for a couple of weeks but her behaviour is clear to everyone, most of all Maria, who is finally done with being avoided like the plague. Natasha and her are friends and she wants answers. Natasha is in the kitchen at 5am for an early coffee when Maria steps in. With none of the boys even remotely awake, Natasha feels her impulse to flee less strongly. She still hides behind her mug full of coffee though because this is the first time they’re alone in weeks and that sets her heart racing too.

“You’re avoiding me.”

“Good morning to you too.”

“Why?” Maria asks instead, and she looks genuinely hurt.

Maria, like Natasha, doesn’t have very many people she’s close to. She has a few female friends but most of them are on assignments elsewhere and Natasha and her have become good friends in recent years. The avoidance stings.

Natasha stalls by sipping her coffee, hoisting herself up on the bar to gain a few inches on Maria.

“I’m not.”

“You’re a better liar than that. What did I do?”

“Nothing,” Natasha says without hesitation because that, at least, is true.

Maria isn’t the problem. The problem is the group of men constantly surrounding Maria with jokes, and smiles, and flirting. Natasha isn’t willing to say that out loud though because she still can’t put a name to the feeling inside her. She just hates the idea of anyone else being close to Maria. She wants those rare laughs for herself, the smiles and the touches that accompany a good conversation.

“Natasha?”

Natasha keeps quiet. She’s deep in thoughts and doesn’t even register that Maria has said anything. Her heart aches again when she thinks about the way she’s seen Maria touch Clint’s arm, and she just about throws her cup against the wall when she remembers Bruce sharing his tea with Maria.

She curses in Russian, frustrated with herself, and slams the mug down on the bartop before getting up and walking past Maria out the door. She doesn’t hear her calling after her.

Clint finds her four hours later in the gym, punching away at a bag. He joins her and keeps the bag steady for her and Natasha pauses before going right back at it.

“So what’s up with you lately?”

“Nothing,” she huffs out between punches.

“You know I’m a spy too, right? And it doesn’t take one to see that something is up.”

Natasha ignores him for another two minutes before reluctantly deciding she’s done putting dents into the bag.

“Nothing is up. Why does everyone keep asking me that today?”

“Everyone?”

“First Maria, now you. Nothing is wrong. I’m fine.”

Clint watches her for a while and then perches himself on the ropes of the boxing ring. He’s seen Maria earlier. He’s calling bullshit.

“Speaking of Hill, she seemed a little upset when I saw her earlier.”

Hearing that makes Natasha frown because it makes her feel bad. She’s not hurting Maria. Maria is made of stronger stuff than that. Right?

“And you’re avoiding her. Even Thor noticed. Talk to me, Tasha.”

“I’m not avoiding her,” she repeats uselessly, “I’m avoiding you with her.”

“Wait, what?”

“You and Steve and the others.”

Clint cocks his head to the side curiously but his face remains impassive when he asks: “Why?”

Natasha stops here because she doesn’t know why. No, that’s not true. She knows why, but she doesn’t know how to even begin explaining it. She can’t. She shrugs instead and Clint makes a little sound that has her throw her towel at him.

“Seriously, what’s up? This isn’t like you.”

“I feel weird when I see her with you,” she finally says. Maybe Clint can help sort this out for her.

“Weird how?”

“Like I’m going to die, or kill one of you.”

Clint nods to himself three times before he hops off the ropes, walks over to Natasha, and puts his hand on her shoulder with a little smile.

“You’re jealous.”

Natasha blinks stupidly. Jealousy is not one of the things she’s considered, and how could she when she’s never been jealous in her life. Envious, sure, but never jealous. She hates it. It makes her hurt for no reason.

“It’s awful,” she just says because it is.

“Yeah, that’s kinda the deal with jealousy.”

“How do I fix it?”

Clint chuckles softly and she’s reminded of the first weeks of being around him. She would not understand something or completely miss the mark on a thing and Clint would laugh and correct her, explain it to her until she got it.

“You tell her you like her and ask her out.”

“Are you insane?”

“Maybe. Then again, I’m not the one who wants to mess with superhumans because they’re being friendly with our Commander.”

“I don’t want to mess with them,” Natasha frowns, “I want to throw them off the Helicarrier.”

“That’s worse, probably. I mean, they’d survive it, I think, but that’s not really the point. Go tell her.”

Natasha doesn’t move. She’s still trying to process the fact that she’s jealous. It’s a mess and it only helps so much to be able to identify the feeling.

“She’s in her office.”

When Natasha still doesn’t make a move, Clint puts his other hand on her free shoulder and turns her around before pushing her to walk. He does it until they reach Maria’s office and he knocks before shoving her inside. Natasha blinks twice when she catches up with where she is and looks at Maria. She does look a little upset still and Natasha tries to drown the feeling of guilt.

“So… about this morning.”

“Will you finally tell me why you’ve been avoiding me?” Maria asks.

“I wasn’t avoiding you,” Natasha says again, “I was trying to avoid committing accidental murder.”

Maria raises an eyebrow to that and waits because she’s not sure she follows. Natasha has been weird for the past weeks.

“Want to elaborate on that?” She asks when Natasha doesn’t follow up.

The redhead holds Maria’s gaze but she’d rather look anywhere but at her if she’s going to admit anything out loud. She hates that too because Natasha likes being confident.

“I’m jealous,” she says simply. She can still be blunt about it at least.

Maria stares at her for a little while, clearly surprised, and she’s not sure what to reply to that.

“Jealous? Of what?”

“Whom,” Natasha corrects, “The boys.”

Maria needs a few more seconds for her brain to draw its conclusion and then she gets up with a slight frown to round her desk. She stops in front of Natasha and Natasha looks back up at her. She’s too proud not to even if there’s another heavy feeling settling in her chest right now. She feels anxious. That’s a feeling she can recognize on her own at least.

“You like me.”

Natasha simply nods. She’s not entirely willing to disclose the fact that Clint practically had to spell it out for her. She’s not good with these things, not yet. She’s never needed to be.

“So the potential accidental murders would have been one or more Avengers finding themselves flung off the Helicarrier?”

Natasha laughs. That’s exactly it and she loves that, out of all the possibilities available to Natasha, Maria settled on the one she’s thought about the most. She does know her quite well after all. She finds that strangely comforting.

“Yes.”

“That would be an awful lot of paperwork.”

“Yeah but then I would feel better.”

“So how do we prevent adding more paperwork to my pile while still making you feel better?” Maria smiles.

Natasha doesn’t need long to catch on. Maria is giving her an opening and she’s going to have to take it.

“Go out with me.”

“Yes. But you have to promise me not to kill anyone, not even accidentally.”

Natasha makes a show of rolling her eyes but then she smiles up at Maria and her chest feels much less tight. She can breathe again without that heavy feeling of dread clouding her brain. This is already an improvement.

“Fine, I promise,” she says, then adds as an afterthought, “What about maiming?”

“Natasha.”

“Okay, fine, no maiming either.”

Maria chuckles and kisses her cheek and Natasha forgets what she’s been so upset about. She can just glare at the guys to get them to back off. It’ll have to do. And, honestly, it’s all worth it for the smile Maria is giving her now.


	2. Stood Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Maria's date stands her up and Natasha comes to the rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rated G

She’s been here for thirty-two minutes already and Maria is only still here because she’s stubborn, not because she thinks her date might actually still show. She’s checked her watch multiple times since arriving, as well as her phone, just in case. She’s met with another no-show. It’s not the first time. There is a reason she doesn’t date. She puts people off. She’s too rigid and uptight in the way she presents herself to strangers. Being ex-military and current AD to one of the most secretive organizations on the planet will do that. She knows it. She tries her best, honestly. It doesn’t surprise her that she’s being stood up but that doesn’t mean it isn’t upsetting. It sucks. Maria sighs into her glass of water and tucks her hair back behind her ear. She’s foregone her usual updo and bun tonight in favor of letting her hair down. She never does it at work but she likes it off hours. It lets her be Maria without being Commander Hill.

The waiter is starting to give her pitying looks and there’s a couple two tables over that have been here longer than her and know she’s waiting for someone. They look at her sadly, too. Maria just wants them to stop. She’s not someone to be pitied. It isn’t like she can hide the fact that she’s supposed to be on a date either though. She’s dressed for one after all. She’s in a mostly new, light blue dress that just about reaches her knees when she’s sitting, she’s fixed her hair, she’s even done her makeup. It’s pretty obvious. It doesn’t make it any easier to deal with those looks though. She absolutely can’t stand them. It’s starting to make her regret even having come in the first place. She hates that she’s made an effort to look nice, because this really shouldn’t have been a surprise anymore. She shakes her head at the thoughts. That’s not true. She couldn’t have known, and she doesn’t regret that she’s tried. She’s not too fond of all the makeup she’s put on (even if it does look fantastic) but it is nice to dress up every so often. Her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform isn’t bad by any means but it’s no dress or suit. She prefers the latter over the former and definitely regrets not wearing one tonight. It would make her feel less annoyed.

She orders a glass of wine when her waiter comes by the fifth time to ask her if maybe she’d finally like to order something, and Maria considers actually staying to eat. She does some people watching while she waits; first within the restaurant then with the people outside. It’s nice sometimes, to just watch regular people go about their regular lives. Maria even enjoys pretending every so often which is probably one of the few reasons she still keeps trying to date. It’s silly at this point, to think she can have something resembling normal with anyone. Maria is just trying to have more than work in her life. She takes a deep breath and looks around the restaurant some more. The place is nice, honestly. It’s just fancy enough to be comfortable without feeling posh and stuck-up. She’s never been here before. This isn’t even her neighborhood. She’s just remembered someone talking about it and it had sounded nice enough that she ended up suggesting it to her date. At least that part isn’t disappointing thus far.

Maria has been here for forty-six minutes now and it is definitely embarrassing that she’s still waiting but she’s too proud to just hide her tail and leave. The couple from earlier is still here, waiting for dessert and Maria sighs into her wine. She will at least stay long enough to enjoy that drink. She starts tuning out her surroundings a little after another sip. She’s tired of the stares and looks and it’s easy enough to ignore them. She’s good at this stuff. She’s halfway through her glass of wine when she decides to check the menu for the seventh time since sitting down. Nothing really strikes her fancy at this point so she closes it again with a huff a minute later.

There have been so many people coming and going that Maria no longer pays any attention to the door. She knows her date won’t show up anymore so there’s really no point. It catches her entirely off guard to hear a familiar voice call out to her before the chair opposite hers gets snatched up and a small redhead sits down on it. Maria blinks as Natasha leaves her jacket hanging over the back of the chair she’s occupying.

“I am so so sorry I’m late!” Natasha says just loud enough for the surrounding tables to hear her clearly, “Traffic was awful. I was stuck in three different traffic jams because people don’t know how to drive, and I couldn’t even text you because my phone died when I left work.”

Maria needs a moment to catch on and she forces a smile once she does. She doesn’t do undercover work often and she’s certainly not been expecting to play pretend tonight. Still, this is better than her alternative. She has no idea how Natasha even knows she’s here. She chances a quick glance around and is relieved to see that the looks she’s getting now shift from pity to relief for her. She’s grateful. She’s grateful to Natasha for helping her out too. Natasha certainly doesn’t have to. There’s no protocol for this kind of scenario.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you could make it. I was going to have to eat without you otherwise,” Maria smiles and Natasha looks at her with a perfectly sheepish expression. Her cover is flawless.

Natasha pushes her hair out of her face and Maria gets distracted watching the movement. Natasha smiles at her again and lowers her voice to a volume that is more intimate and familiar.

“How long have you been sitting here, all alone?”

“Too long,” Maria admits, “You rescued me from my own embarrassment.”

Natasha looks at her and takes in her attire and the obvious effort that’s gone into her whole getup tonight and Maria almost squirms. She doesn’t like being scrutinized, though she realizes it’s more than just that this time.

“Date stood you up?” Natasha asks, hazarding a guess.

Maria nods. It is terribly obvious anyway. If the entirety of the restaurant can figure it out, Maria thinks that Natasha has likely figured it out before even coming in.

“Well,” Natasha starts as she waves over the waiter, “Their loss.”

The waiter smiles at her when he arrives and Natasha is surprisingly friendly when she orders her wine. She lets Maria order while she checks the menu. They both end up getting the daily special and the waiter leaves again, looking altogether far too pleased. Maria finally remembers where she’s heard about this place before. It was from Natasha. That makes sense then. She’s torn out of her sudden revelation when Natasha speaks up again.

“You look gorgeous, by the way. Seriously, how could anyone just stand you up like that?”

“I hear I’m off-putting,” Maria shrugs.

It doesn’t bother her that much; it never really has. Sure, it sucks, but she’s used to it. It is, however, nice to hear Natasha’s words and she feels a little better about having tried tonight. It helps that Natasha herself always looks flawless no matter the situation.

“Anyone I know?”

“No,” Maria says, narrowing her eyes at the suddenly too innocent expression on Natasha’s face, “And I’m not giving you a name if you’re thinking about doing something stupid.”

“Me? I’d never. Maybe I wanna thank them.”

“For ditching me on our first date?”

“For giving me the chance to rescue you and see you all dressed up,” Natasha grins.

“You’re awful,” Maria says, rolling her eyes.

There’s a hint of a smile on her face though and if Natasha’s answering grin is any indication, the redhead has definitely noticed it. Maria doesn’t mind. It really doesn’t matter. It isn’t that Maria is a different person off the clock but she carries herself differently when there’s no agents around, no work to be done. She carries herself lighter. Tonight, she is just Maria Hill. Natasha smiles at her and rests her head in her hand.

“I mean it though. You do look gorgeous and whoever stood you up is an idiot.”

Maria shakes her head but thanks her anyway. She doesn’t do dates because things like this happen far too often. She can’t even remember the last time she’s had a second date with anyone. She’s too secretive for civilians, too tough and unapproachable even when she tries. And she’s certainly not interested in dating anyone from work. It isn’t like she doesn’t know how to kick back and relax or have fun but it is difficult to open up about anything when she’s practically married to her job already. That’s the problem with people like her.

“What are you even doing here?”

“I was going home when I saw you looking miserable and about to possibly maim someone. I figured it might be safer for everyone if I came in. Plus, I’m famished.”

“I was not miserable,” Maria argues.

“Keep telling yourself that.”

Maria glares at her but Natasha’s smile is bright and beautiful and Maria rolls her eyes to ignore the way that makes her feel. Maybe she’s been a little miserable. But now Natasha is here and she no longer feels so bad.

Their food arrives surprisingly quickly and Maria wonders whether that has anything to do with how long she’s been here all alone or if maybe Natasha is enough of a regular to get special treatment. Neither would surprise her at this point. In the end it doesn’t actually matter. The food is here and it looks even more delicious than it smells. The daily special is salmon pasta which is just the right kind of not-too-posh dish for a date like this. They start eating together and Maria shakes her head to herself. It’s ridiculously lucky that Natasha has walked in when she has and decided to pretend to be her date. She watches her over a forkful of pasta and hides a smile. Natasha is all but stuffing her face with the food. It’s not graceful whatsoever but it is cute.

“I’ll be honest,” Natasha says after swallowing her latest forkful, “I didn’t think you actually dated.”

“Tonight is a good reminder why I don’t like trying,” Maria sighs.

It’s Natasha’s turn to shake her head and she takes a sip from her wine to ease the feeling in her throat from eating too much at once.

“I still don’t get it. I really don’t understand how anyone could do this to you, especially on a first date.”

Maria shrugs again. To her, this really doesn’t matter anymore. There’s nothing she can do about it now and, truth be told, Natasha is already much better company than her date would have been.

“I bet that doesn’t happen to you, huh?”

Maria can’t imagine anyone standing up Natasha. She’s one of the most beautiful people Maria has ever seen and she doesn’t carry herself in a way that would suggest her occupation; not to the untrained eye anyway. Natasha can fit in anywhere and sometimes, Maria finds herself a little envious of that. She can’t just turn it off for herself the way Natasha seems to be able to.

“I wouldn’t know,” Natasha laughs softly, “I don’t go on dates. It’s hard to find anything in common with people when you’re me. It’s not exactly safe either.”

“I suppose that is fair enough,” Maria concedes before deciding to change the topic, “This food is incredible, by the way.”

“Right? I love this place.”

“I can see why. At least that’s a good consolation tonight.”

Natasha smiles again and they eat in relative silence for a little while. They talk about work briefly but Natasha steers the conversation away from that again quickly. This is a date, even if it’s just a pretend one, and they are both fully off the clock for a change. Work can wait. There are other things Natasha would rather talk about, and Maria finds herself agreeing with the sentiment. Tonight isn’t supposed to be about work. Natasha asks about her actual date instead but Maria isn’t terribly keen on talking about her too much. She doesn’t even know that much about her anyway. She does tell Natasha that they met in the park where she goes running and her date’s dog almost ran her over. Natasha laughs a little to that and in turn tells her about the cat that isn’t hers.

“How is it your cat but not your cat?” Maria asks, amused.

“Liho just kind of comes and goes. I feed her but she’s not my cat. She just keeps showing up.”

“That sounds exactly like she’s your cat,” Maria chuckles.

Discussing the pet situation is a nice distraction. She really doesn’t want to talk about her date right now, and Natasha looks pretty happy talking about Liho despite her insistence that it’s not her cat. It puts a smile on Maria’s face that she can’t explain. It’s nice to hear a little more about her personal life. Sometimes she worries that Natasha might not have one; a little like her.

“Clint keeps bringing cat food and toys, like he’s trying to encourage her.”

“That’s because you have a cat. You know cats basically choose their humans, right? You’ve been chosen.”

Natasha snorts and shakes her head. Maria grins. She likes this, just chatting without it being work-related. She’s having a much better time than she’s been expecting after waiting here for almost an hour. Natasha really has saved her evening. Maybe she’s even a little grateful that her date is a no-show. She’s not embarrassed to admit it, not when Natasha’s laugh is so genuine.

Natasha waves the waiter over again to ask for the bill when they’re done eating. He nods and leaves to get it and Maria reaches for her purse to get her wallet. Natasha reaches across the table and covers her hand with a small grin. Maria gives her a look.

“You’re not paying, Natasha.”

“It’s my treat. Please?”

“Natasha…”

Maria is too distracted by her touch to argue further even though she really wants to. Natasha shouldn’t pay after saving her evening. She sighs and smiles gratefully, giving up and letting it go. Natasha is stubborn. She squeezes her hand gently and smiles back at Maria. Maria shakes her head to clear it when Natasha turns her attention back to the approaching waiter. She can’t explain the sudden flush on her cheeks from Natasha’s touch. The distraction the bill provides is very much appreciated.

“Thank you,” she tells Natasha.

Natasha shrugs it off with a grin and then gets up. She grabs her jacket and waits for Maria so they can leave together. Once outside, Natasha turns to Maria and laughs softly.

“You really don’t need heels, you know? You’re already tall enough without them.”

Maria smirks. Natasha barely reaches her shoulder this way and it’s all kinds of cute. It’s just another thing to make her feel better tonight. Natasha is good at that.

“Maybe I just like being tall.”

“I believe it.”

Maria chuckles but then she’s not sure what the proper protocol is now. Shake hands? Hug? Neither? She honestly has no idea what to do. She doesn’t need to decide, luckily, because Natasha does it for her. The redhead smirks up at her before getting onto her tiptoes to kiss Maria’s cheek. Maria hasn’t expected that, at all, and she blinks stupidly which makes Natasha laugh quietly.

“Would you maybe wanna do this again some time?” Natasha asks.

“I thought you don’t do dates?”

“With regular people. You’re not regular people.”

Something about that statement amuses Maria. She’s not wrong. Maria forgets all about her wish to not go out with anyone from work because Natasha doesn’t seem to count when she thinks about it.

“Alright, but only if you dress for the occasion, and don’t stand me up,” Maria decides with a smile.

“I can definitely promise that. I’m not an idiot. I’d never stand you up.”

“Then you’ve got yourself a date.”

Natasha smiles at her brightly and Maria is struck by how much she really enjoys the idea of going on an actual, real date with the small redhead. She’s never really thought about it before. She wonders whether Natasha has.

“Thank you for tonight,” she tells her again.

“You’re welcome,” Natasha smiles back.

The smile makes Maria reach out to cup her cheek and kiss the other. She feels a little more in control, a little more like herself, afterwards and grins when she realizes Natasha is actually blushing a little. She likes it. It’s cute.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Uh-huh… I’ll let you know about the date so you can make sure we’re both available.”

Maria nods and Natasha finds her composure with another smirk. Maria laughs and then they both turn to go their separate ways without another word. She has to admit that her evening didn’t turn out so bad in the end, and this is a much better outcome than she thinks her actual date could have provided. She’s finally looking forward to another date again.


	3. Bed Sharing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, no, there is only one bed in this hotel room¿¡

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rated G

Natasha is used to going on missions with Clint and usually only having one bed and, with some luck, a couch she makes him sleep on. Clint is a space hogger and she’s not here for that. It doesn’t matter this time though because she’s not on a mission with him. She’s here with one Maria Hill. It’s not their first mission together but usually their missions don’t last very long or they stay at a S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse. They’re not lucky enough for either of those things this time but honestly, she’s not the least bit bothered by it. Natasha has finished missions in worse conditions. The rundown hotel they’re staying at isn’t amazing by any means, nor secure, but it’ll do for the duration of this.

Maria grumbles to herself when she takes the key from the receptionist and then takes her bag to go to their room. Natasha follows her. She is entirely unsurprised to find only one bed in the room but Maria has still been hoping for more and she sighs at the sight of it. It’s not even very big. They won’t have a lot of space between the two of them.

Natasha doesn’t hesitate before dropping her bag between the bed and the wall and sitting down. She sleeps far away from the windows, always, so Maria is just going to have to deal with it.

“Dibs on this side.”

“What are you, twelve?”

Natasha grins at her and opens her bag while Maria goes to look out the window and check the view. It’s not great but it is close enough to their target. She sighs and drops her own bag on the small table. They still need to go over the plan for the next day.

Natasha takes off her shoes and leans back on the bed, watching Maria.

“Are you going to live with having to share the bed?”

“Of course. I’d just like more space, is all.”

“Don’t tell me you’re a space hogger.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to invade your space.”

“Maybe I want you to,” Natasha returns, her expression and tone neutral.

Maria turns her head with a raised eyebrow but Natasha’s facade doesn’t crack and only when Maria turns back towards her bag does Natasha grin. She likes seeing what riles the other woman up, and how far she can push before it’s too much.

They go over the plan three times; once together, then each one of them individually. It’s completely unnecessary since they both excel at the job but it’s reassuring and has become a habit since their first joint mission.

Once that’s done, Maria claims the bathroom for herself and Natasha takes the time to change and double check the door and windows. It’s habit more than anything. She gets into bed when she’s satisfied and waits for Maria. Natasha doesn’t like sharing the bed unless she absolutely has to for the simple reason that she generally doesn’t sleep well. She’s a light sleeper and gets too many nightmares so she’s often awake multiple times a night, sometimes with screams, sometimes just heavy breathing or a simple start if she’s lucky.

Maria joins her again, changed as well, and takes the empty side of the bed near the windows. She sits back against the headboard and Natasha rolls onto her back, watching her.

“Get some sleep,” Maria tells her, “We have to be up early enough as is.”

Natasha chuckles dryly but makes no immediate move to get any sleep. It doesn’t work like that with her. Maria knows it, she just likes telling her.

Maria falls asleep first eventually, her back to Natasha. Natasha needs another hour to actually get any sleep.

It’s two hours later that Natasha wakes suddenly. Maria, in her sleep, has rolled onto her other side, facing Natasha, and flung her arm around Natasha’s middle. It’s the additional weight that’s woken Natasha up and she almost kicks Maria out of bed. She stops herself from actually doing it but freezes in place anyway. She holds her breath, her body tensing up when Maria pulls herself closer against her. Natasha doesn’t dare to move or breathe. This never happens with anyone. She doesn’t let Clint share the bed and she rarely teams up with anyone else. She doesn’t know what to do with this situation. Maria huffs into her hair and Natasha shifts her head on the pillow to look at her. She looks a lot more relaxed than Natasha remembers ever seeing her. It’s nice. Natasha allows herself to relax after another minute and rests her head in a more comfortable position, just below Maria’s. She falls asleep like that, curled into Maria.

It’s the best sleep Natasha’s gotten in years. The realization hits her hard when she wakes up the next morning and she doesn’t want to move. She can’t, really. Maria’s tightened her hold on her during the night. Maria stirrs a few minutes after Natasha and presses her fingers into her skin.

“Ah,” she says softly when she notices the smaller body pressed against hers, “Sorry about that.”

Maria isn’t bothered that she’s done it and Natasha rolls onto her back when Maria releases her. Natasha shrugs. She’s not about to tell Maria how it’s helped her sleep.

“I know I’m irresistible but I thought you said you’re not a space hogger.”

Maria laughs softly and stretches again before getting out of bed. She runs a hand through her hair and Natasha pushes herself into a sitting position to watch.

“I sleep better with someone close to me,” Maria explains.

Natasha isn’t expecting to hear that, nor an explanation in the first place. She looks at Maria and recalls the way she’s looked in her sleep after grabbing her. She knows Maria has her own demons, her own ghosts. She talks about them about as much as Natasha does so this feels a lot more personal than it would with anyone else.

“At least you’re warm,” Natasha returns, grinning when Maria gives her a look.

They smile at each other for a moment and then Maria heads to the bathroom and Natasha gets up to get ready for their mission. They won’t be here another night and part of Natasha already laments the fact.

* * *

  
Two months later they’re on another mission together. They’re at a S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse this time. There’s a couch there that Natasha occupies because Maria is too tall to sleep on it. She takes the bed instead. Natasha has spent the past weeks trying to get sleep as peaceful as she’s had when Maria was holding her. It’s been an unsuccessful endeavor. Normally it wouldn’t bother her at all but it’s nice to be able to get some sleep without waking up in a state of panic.

Natasha makes it through the first night by giving up on sleep at 3am and finding something to read instead. She’s used to nights like these but it makes her long for real sleep.

She doesn’t even try the second night. She knocks on the bedroom door six minutes past midnight. Maria opens it moments later and waits for Natasha to say something.

“Last time, you said you sleep better with someone close to you.”

Maria nods and smiles a little: “I do.”

“I slept better when you held me,” Natasha admits.

She’s not embarrassed to admit it. Maria’s made her feel safe that night and she’s struggled sleeping even more since then. Maria steps aside and nods her in. Natasha releases a breath and smiles at her before coming in. They get into bed and Maria doesn’t wait to wrap an arm around Natasha’s middle and pulling her flush against her.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Natasha relaxes and closes her eyes. She already feels more at ease. She thinks it’ll be another good night for a change and wonders how she could get away with more like these off missions. She falls asleep with that on her mind and a feeling of warmth spreading through her.

Maria smiles fondly and allows herself some sleep as well. Having Natasha in her arms now when she can actually enjoy the additional warmth makes her feel better. She’s not worried about sleeping well tonight. She knows she will. She just hopes there will be more opportunities like this in the future.


	4. Fake Dating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ran away from me a little bit but I've been assured it's still topical enough to go here and not be its own separate fic. Sorry it took a few months for this to be updated but it's extra long so hopefully that makes up for it a little :)
> 
> Rated G

  
Maria is grumpy. It doesn’t happen often and she normally hides it well but there’s nothing that needs her immediate attention today and so she doesn’t bother. She enters the kitchen for a much needed third cup of coffee and finds Tony there, along with Wanda, Natasha and Steve who are all chatting about whatever invention Tony’s currently working on. Maria _should _care, if only for the fact that it’s likely to backfire somehow and leave her to deal with the fallout. But today, Maria just doesn’t care about any of it. She half listens anyway because there’s not much else to do while she waits for her coffee. When she slumps down onto a stool at the bar, however, Tony shifts his attention to her. She wishes he wouldn’t. 

“You look grumpy.”

“No shit,” she mumbles. 

She pinches the bridge of her nose and looks at the group briefly. Tony is far too intrigued by this rare occurance already and Maria regrets having stepped out of her room. 

“Did something happen?”

The question comes from Steve and that’s the only reason she’s not glaring a hole into anyone’s skull. Wanda still looks a little intimidated anyway and Natasha observes quietly from the sidelines. Maria shrugs. It’s completely inconsequential and honestly, she doesn’t even care that much. It doesn’t matter. 

“Highschool reunion,” she offers nonchalantly. “You know how it is.”

Tony’s face lights up but his is the only one. Natasha and Wanda both look a little lost and Steve is just confused as to why it makes her grumpy. 

“Let me guess. You were _not_ a popular kid in highschool,” Tony grins. “Or! Someone stole your boyfriend and you don’t want to see them ever again?”

Natasha’s grin doesn’t escape her notice and she wonders, not for the first time, if she’s just that obvious to her. There was never a boyfriend to be stolen by a more popular girl. Not in Maria’s life anyway. She’s realized early on that she has no interest in men and she’s never tried dating one just to fit in. Maria has always been a quiet but diligent student; keeping out of trouble and staying focused to get the grades she wanted. Sure, she’s never been popular but that’s never something she’s concerned herself with either. 

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not going.”

“What?! But you have to go!”

“Why?” 

“Because, my dear Agent Hill, you have the ultimate bragging rights. And that’s really all reunions are good for. You brag about how great your life is.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

Tony still looks outraged and unconvinced and Maria feels like her coffee is taking forever to be done. She doesn’t want to have this conversation. 

“Ultimate bragging rights?” Steve asks. 

Maria rolls her eyes while Tony turns towards him dramatically. She can see the big speech coming. Where is her damn coffee?

“Us!” Tony exclaims. “Obviously. Come on, nobody else at that reunion is going to be able to say they work with the Avengers.”

“More like save the Avengers’ ass all the time,” Natasha says just loud enough to be heard. 

Tony pauses and he’s ready to argue in mock offense but then just shrugs. It’s true. Maria handles the PR nightmares that follow them everywhere and she’s the one planning their missions. She leads them from the mansion and makes sure they come back in one piece. Mostly. The remark makes Maria smile a little and she looks at the redhead, amused. Natasha is never above admitting such things despite her skills. Maria appreciates that. She knows the team appreciates her in return and, honestly, that’s nice too. She feels a part of it, for better or worse. Still, she fails to see how that will make her highschool reunion any more bearable. In fact, it’ll probably make it worse. 

“I’ll come with you.”

Maria says no to Tony’s adorably misplaced offer faster than she can think about her coffee. She also glares at Steve before he can suggest his own company. He doesn’t say anything then and smiles sheepishly instead. Natasha moving catches her attention and she’s so absorbed in regretting her life choices and working with Tony Stark of all people that she completely misses that her coffee is finally done. She only realizes when Natasha pours her a cup and puts it down on the bar in front of her with a smile. 

She likes Natasha. Their work relationship hasn’t always been the best but Natasha has never questioned her orders or made her job difficult just for the sake of it. Likewise, Maria knows she can trust Natasha in and out of the field. The latter has taken a long time to happen. They’re just barely friends, since actively working together and living under the same roof with the rest of the Avengers. Something has always felt off at first and it’s taken some time to get past that. But now? Now Maria appreciates her sense of humor and having a female friend to talk to when the boys just get too much to deal with. Natasha equally enjoys the often silent company to just unwind. 

“Thanks.”

The way Natasha watches her reminds Maria of a child trying to figure out a rubik’s cube. It’s actually kind of cute. She wraps her hands around her cup and lets the hot coffee warm her cold fingers. It’s better to wait with Natasha. She’s learned a long time ago that pressing for answers when Natasha is trying to work something out never ends well. 

“You don’t want to go?”

“Nope. I don’t even like any of those people, and I’m busy working.”

“Boo!” Tony shouts from his spot and Maria groans.

Wanda laughs quietly and it makes Natasha smile. Despite their rough start, they’ve become good friends. Maria thinks that’s a good thing; for both of them. 

“Would you go if you didn’t need to go alone?” Natasha asks. 

“Do _you_ want to go?” Maria asks right back, because that’s the impression she’s getting. 

Natasha shrugs and Tony’s already spouting more nonsense about how he got shot down but Natasha just gets the raised eyebrow treatment. 

“It’s because you’re you, Tony,” Natasha grins. “And I’m pretty sure nobody needs someone as known as you as their plus one to a highschool reunion.”

Maria watches his fake hurt expression and almost chuckles. It’s true. She doesn’t want nor need all the cameras that follow Tony literally everywhere. Not to mention the amount of rumors and gossip it would start. That’s also why she doesn’t want Steve’s company. As far as a friendly outing together goes, she likes Steve well enough. But this is going to be highschool all over again and she’s not interested in her old classmates purposfully ignoring the part where she’d tell them that she’s not actually dating Captain America. 

Her focus shifts back to Natasha, who is watching her curiously. If she wouldn’t need to go alone, Maria might consider actually showing up. But therein lies another problem: going with someone implies something more than friendship with that plus one. Or worse, she’ll just appear like a desperate single who can’t hold down a relationship because she’s married to the job. Which, yes, is perfectly accurate and nothing she’s embarrassed about, but she knows her old classmates. They’re vultures, ready to jump on the opportunity to tear anyone apart with fake smiles and barely hidden pleasure at someone else’s shortcomings. Maria would much rather face another army of killer robots. 

“I don’t think I want to continue this conversation around Stark,” Maria says eventually. “How about a walk?”

Tony is, once again, offended but Natasha smiles minutely and nods once. Maria takes her cup of coffee and gets up to leave the kitchen again, Natasha following closely behind. They walk down the hallway together and Maria takes a few sips on the way. 

“You know?” She asks, leaving the question vague. She knows she doesn’t need to specify. 

“That there was never a boyfriend and Tony and Steve are entirely unfit to go with you? Yeah.”

Maria nods to herself. She knows it’s not that obvious and she knows Natasha pays attention to the small things. She’s not surprised. 

“Do your classmates know you’re gay?”

“I have no idea. It’s not like I’m in touch with any of them. Could be someone realized back then but I doubt anyone would remember it. It’s not like I dated in highschool.”

Natasha watches her thoughtfully. There’s a question on the tip of her tongue and Maria waits for it. They round the corner to their rooms and Maria lets them into hers before Natasha finally speaks up again. 

“Do people normally bring friends to those?”

“Not as far as I know. I think it’s usually either partners or no one. My invite did say I could bring a plus one so I guess most of them are going to bring their spouses.”

“That explains it then.”

Maria sets her coffee cup down on her desk and then turns to face Natasha fully. She can see that the intrigue is still there but now Natasha is calculating the possible outcomes. The amount of focus she puts into something this trivial amuses Maria a little. Nothing Natasha does is done halfway. She’s always appreciated that. 

“I haven’t decided yet on whether or not I’ll actually go but if I do, and you still want to tag along, that’s fine by me. Nobody said I can’t bring a friend and I honestly doubt they’ll immediately jump to conclusions about our relationship.”

Natasha nods once but she’s still thinking it all over and Maria chuckles at the look of concentration on her face. 

“It’s not an op, Natasha. You don’t have to think about this as hard as you are.”

“I know. It’s just new.”

It’s Maria’s turn to nod. It would be new to Natasha. She’s never going to have a highschool reunion and Maria doesn’t think she’s particularly interested in reuniting with anyone from the Red Room. At least from what she knows, she finds it unlikely. She takes her cup of coffee, downs half of it, and then runs her hands through her hair to redo her bun. 

“Tony’s right though,” Natasha says, watching her curiously. “You _do_ have ultimate bragging rights.”

Maria snorts a short laugh and fixes her new bun in place at the nape of her neck. That’s true. She can tell people she has Tony Stark answering to her and Captain America taking orders from her. It’s funny when she thinks about it from the standpoint of someone not involved in their work. It would absolutely be worth dropping that in a conversation and seeing everyone’s face. Maria isn’t a petty person and she has no real issues with anyone from school but she doesn’t particularly like any of them either. If she has to endure the reunion, she might as well name drop one or two of the Avengers. 

Natasha smiles at her laugh. It’s not like Maria never smiles or laughs or cracks jokes. She does it quite often when they’re not in the middle of a mission, actually. But these laughs are much rarer and Natasha likes being the cause of them. They’re cute and very unlike the Agent Hill she’s known for so many years now. Maria feels like a completely different person to her sometimes. 

“You should go, Maria. I know we’re driving you crazy here and those people might too, but it’ll be a different kind of crazy. And I think you could use a couple of days away from Stark and his special kind of crazy,” Natasha smiles.

Maria sighs and shrugs a shoulder. Natasha isn’t wrong. She could use a break from the Avengers and running things for just a few days. Some time to breathe and unwind, away from this place. She likes it here, and she loves the team, but they are a handful and quarrel like children all the time. It gives her a semi-constant headache that she doesn’t think she deserves. 

“We’ll be fine without you for two days.”

“I’m not so sure about that, personally. Not if you come with me anyway.”

Maria doesn’t miss the way Natasha’s face lights up ever so slightly. Natasha is, in many ways, still innocent despite what she herself believes. There are plenty of things she’s never gotten the opportunity to do and even more things she won’t get the chance to do, ever. And maybe Natasha won’t ever have a highschool reunion of her own but Maria can take her along to hers and show her what it’s like anyway. She knows small things like this matter to Natasha more than she’ll ever admit to. Even now, after all this time, having people trust her is something Natasha doesn’t always understand but is fully grateful for. Being included in mundane, every day things means something to her. Maria likes making sure she’s a part of things, even if it’s just something trivial like helping out with dinner or offering to spar with her. The more personal the more she knows Natasha appreciates it but it’s not about grandeur. 

“Fine. I’ll go. Want to tag along?”

Natasha smiles and nods once and Maria smiles right back at her. At least with Natasha around she won’t be bored out of her mind. Plus, Natasha is excellent at adapting to any and all situations so she won’t cause a scene or be overwhelmed by the amount of people interested in her. As far as the Avengers go, her face is still relatively unknown to the general public, though that’s changed a bit after her information dump years ago. But Maria thinks it’s safe to assume that people will leave Natasha alone regarding that. She’s not high profile like Tony or Steve, or even Thor. Natasha should be able to be whoever she wants to be at the reunion and enjoy herself. 

“When is it?”

“A month. I’ll find us a place to stay the night and we can take a quinjet there. I’m not dealing with a commercial flight on top of everything else.”

“Fair enough,” Natasha grins.

Maria takes the chance to finish her coffee and then finds the email with the reunion subject to rsvp. She’s not looking forward but at least she’ll have company she actually likes. Natasha excuses herself while she does it to get back to Wanda and the boys. It’s going to be a long month. 

* * *

By the time they need to leave for Chicago, Maria has stopped giving any kind of damn about her reunion. She doesn’t dread it, doesn’t look forward to it. She feels completely indifferent except for the fact that Natasha looks positively giddy about it. As much as Natasha allows anyone to see her excitement anyway. It’s cute, in a way, and makes it worth going. She’s found them a hotel room for the night and the flight only takes a few hours. They had to leave early to make it though. The hotel is about a half hour away from where the reunion is taking place so they drop their bags in their room and then make their way there. 

Natasha has never been to Chicago but the bit of the city she gets to see she likes. She’ll need to come back here some time. Maybe Maria can show her around. Maria isn’t really paying much attention until they reach their destination: the gym of her old highschool, used with the school’s permission. There’s a student at a table up front, a bunch of name tags in front of her. Maria sighs and walks up to her to get her own name tag and head inside. 

“Hi! Name please?”

“Maria Hill,” Maria says, already having spotted her tag. Most of them are already taken; they’re some of the lasts to arrive despite Maria’s punctuality. 

The girl ticks off her name on her list and gives Maria her name tag before turning to Natasha to repeat the process. By the time Natasha holds hers, Maria has already fixed her own to her jacket. Natasha follows her example and then they go inside. 

It’s a small crowd but most of them haven’t changed much and Maria recognizes the majority of them without needing to try too hard. She’s good with faces. They don’t even make it to the drinks before someone comes to greet her, shrill voice and all. Maria already has regrets. 

“Maria, is that you?? Oh my gosh, look at you!”

Natasha raises her eyebrow at Maria, wholly amused. Maria turns to the blonde in front of her and gives her a polite smile. Cindy has never been one of the worst girls in her year but Maria’s always found her irritating. It seems some things don’t change even after twenty years. 

She only gets out a short “hey” before Cindy’s focus shifts to Natasha. 

“Who’s your friend?”

Cindy’s far too loud voice has attracted far too much attention already and a few of the others join them for quick hellos and surprised murmurs before anyone can actually reply to her. Maria tenses minutely. She’s not used to this much attention from people who’ve never cared about her a day in their lives. It’s fine that way but it still irks her. Natasha, of course, notices. She takes a step closer to Maria and loops their arms, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and then leaving it in hers. It helps, a little, but it also forebodes Natasha’s next words. 

“Hi. I’m Nat, Maria’s girlfriend.”

It’s a simple statement with no foundation whatsoever but it has everyone’s undivided attention. Maria smiles, not surprised nor terribly bothered by that lie, though she does wonder where it comes from. In any case, this will be easier to handle than questions about her lack of love life and why she’s not married yet. Maria doesn’t enjoy being teased so she prefers this over the alternative. 

“Damn,” someone says, followed by a low wolf whistle that makes Maria’s fingers flex in Natasha’s hold. 

She knows that voice. One of the jocks who thought it would be funny to hit on the quietly determined girl who’s never had any interest in making friends. Maria. He’s tried it multiple times; for fun, as a joke, even as a bet once, and Maria’s always been quick to shut him down. 

She notices movement from the corner of her eye and looks towards the source: a tall brunette she recognizes right away. The woman shakes her head with a disappointed sigh and Maria cracks a grin. 

“Don’t be a pig, Kevin,” she says, then turns to Maria and Natasha with a genuine warm smile. “Don’t mind him. He’s just jealous. It’s great to see you, Maria, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Nat.”

“Likewise.”

The woman introduces herself as Jessica and pulls them away from the sudden crowd so they can breathe and grab a drink. Maria remembers Jessica as both terribly pretty and very smart and she also remembers the crush she’s had on her. Despite being one of the most popular girls in their year, Jessica’s never been on a high horse. She’s even tried making friends with Maria a few times and any time they had to work on a project together, she treated her like any of her friends. She’s one of the few people Maria has pleasant memories of and it’s good to see that she hasn’t changed for the worse. 

“I must admit, I always suspected it a little,” Jessica starts, still smiling. “I’m glad you’re not just burying yourself in work anymore the way you used to with your studies.”

“She still does that,” Natasha grins and Maria finally realizes that this is a way for Natasha to learn more about Maria as a teenager. 

She never really talks about her childhood much and nobody really knows anything either. This is the perfect opportunity to get some intel. Maria lets it slide because this is her own fault. At least Natasha won’t misuse anything she’ll learn tonight. 

“I don’t think I’d be able to, with a girlfriend this gorgeous,” Jessica laughs. 

“Aw, thanks!”

Maria rolls her eyes but smiles. It’s true that Natasha is gorgeous; anyone with eyes can tell that much. It’s likely also true that if Maria was dating someone as pretty as her, she’d probably work less. But Maria is too invested in the job to even attempt to have a social life past work. She likes it that way. Maria’s never been fussed about dating. She’s happy as is and, really, there’s just no time for her to have a love life. 

“You make such a cute couple too.”

Natasha smiles brightly and Maria finds herself mirroring it before she hides it behind a gulp of whatever drink she’s picked up earlier. Maria is quick to change the topic of the conversation off them and to Jessica’s life instead. It’s not that she’s really eager to hear how she’s been doing the past twenty years but she doesn’t want to keep talking about her fake relationship with Natasha. Natasha supports the switch by asking more questions and acting more interested than she is. She is genuinely curious about these people that Maria’s spent years surrounded by. She wonders what they’re all like and what they were like back then. And what Maria was like then. She knows the latter will require careful threading or Maria will interrupt her attempts before she’ll get far. 

Luckily, Jessica is happy to talk about her own life and her failed marriage (“It just wasn’t meant to be but it was good while it lasted”), and how her blog is finally getting enough traction to be worthwhile to her. It’s nice and mundane and Maria enjoys listening. At least until another man joins them with a full drink and a grin that tells Maria and Natasha both that he’s somehow drunk already, at 5pm. Maria isn’t here for any drama and she’s never liked this guy much to begin with. Nick has been a classic bully and by the looks of it that hasn’t changed. She’s starting to think none of them have changed at all and that’s a little sad for some. Nick definitely falls into that category. He slurs his greeting slightly, tipsy, and ignores Jessica completely. Maria knows it’s coming; the gross kind of remark from a guy who suddenly noticed that a girl that’s always been unremarkable has grown up to be pretty. 

“If I’d known you’d get this hot, I’d have totally slept with you back in the day.”

She’s not surprised when it falls from his lips and she’s not even offended. Maria just doesn’t care enough to be. It’s terribly rude but she merely sighs and glares at him. He stumbles a little and his eyes land on Natasha. 

“Don’t even think about saying whatever you’re going to say,” Maria warns. 

It’s a miracle but it works and keeps him from saying anything more. Maria is grateful. Natasha chuckles.

“She’s so protective of me. I love that.”

“It’s because you’re so tiny.”

The look on Natasha’s face, fake or not, is totally worth it. Maria grins at her as Natasha glares a hole into her skull. There’s some laughter coming from around them and from across the room over other people’s chatters. Maria relaxes. When Natasha notices, she smiles warmly. 

“It’s a good thing you’re pretty, Masha,” Natasha teases.

Maria huffs a laugh herself and barely realizes that Jessica’s excused herself and Nick has left to bother someone else. Her and Natasha remain where they are for a bit, watching the gym fill out with the rest of the missing people, and then eventually (and under weak protests from Maria) make the rounds to talk to everyone. Maria introduces Natasha and vice versa and she’s surprised at how few of them actually bombard her with questions about her sexuality or act shocked. A few do, sure, but most of them just accept it for what it is without making any kind of deal out of it. It’s nice. Natasha makes it easy too. She’s quite cute, actually, and Maria isn’t sure what to make of that. She likes it though. It’s a side of her she doesn’t get to see often and it’s genuine enough too. Not all of it is but it’s more than Maria has expected tonight. She’s especially fond of seeing her excitement at the yearbook someone’s brought. 

“You were so cute!” 

The volume Natasha uses is deliberately loud. She’s having fun with the impromptu girlfriend cover. Maria doesn’t mind. 

“I was not.”

Natasha is looking at it on the table, trying to find every instance of Maria she can find. Maria hasn’t changed much. Her features are sharper now and she has an edge to her that wasn’t there back then but her face is pretty much the same. She’s always been tall and slim. Maria looks through the book as well, happy to adapt to Natasha’s speed. There’s a smile on Natasha’s face that warms Maria’s heart and makes the embarrassment quite worth it. Natasha stops at a picture of Maria holding a boxing trophy and reads the small caption. 

“I knew you’ve always been a badass,” she says softly and Maria smiles. 

“Sure, let’s go with that.”

Natasha grins at her and Maria is pretty sure she’s enjoying this a little too much. Not that she blames her. They’re interrupted by another classmate who comes to their table with his wife, smiling and laughing at something she must have just said. Maria doesn’t recognize him without his name tag. He apologizes for interrupting and then greets them both before introducing his wife. They’re a lovely couple and, most importantly as far as Maria is concerned tonight, quiet. They chat for a half hour and then there’s a mic going off somewhere and everyone’s attention turns towards it. The short speech that follows comes from Jessica, who thanks everyone for coming, cracks a few jokes and then ends it with a few well wishes for the evening. A lot of the smaller groups start merging together after that and the conversations get livelier now that the initial awkwardness of twenty years apart has passed. 

It takes a whole two hours more before Maria runs out of excuses and evasion topics to switch to to avoid talking about what she’s been up to. Which is exactly why Natasha is so eager to jump in and tell everyone. 

“Oh, she’s working with the Avengers.”

She drops it casually, like she’s telling them about the weather. Maria would find it amazing if it weren’t for the fact that all eyes are suddenly back on her. Half of them, naturally, don’t believe Natasha but Natasha clearly isn’t disturbed by it. If anything, Maria can see how much fun she’s actually having with this. It’s fair too, she supposes. Natasha smiles like nothing of interest just happened and then continues talking. 

“It’s so cool. Sometimes I even get to hang out with Captain America. And Iron Man let me use his repulsors once and it was _awesome_.”

Maria almost snorts a laugh at the words. They’re not technically lies but it’s bullshit all the same for different reasons. For one, Natasha is _never_ this excited to be around either one of the mentioned Avengers, and for two, she’s one herself so that doesn’t even count. She _lives_ with them. They both do. 

“And they’re a handful. Not nearly as exciting as it sounds, honestly.”

“No way,” someone says. 

Of course the questions just keep coming after that. 

“Do you have any photos?”

“Can you call them?”

“What’s it like to be around them?”

“How did you end up working with them?”

“Why would they work with someone like you?”

Maria doesn’t even hear all of them and she doesn’t want to either. A few rude ones slip in and catch Natasha’s attention and it’s not for the first time that she wonders what it must be like for Maria to constantly be questioned like that, for all the wrong reasons. Maria is used to it and she’s stopped caring many years ago. She knows her skill; knows she’s good at her job even if it takes some people longer to figure it out. She’s exactly where she’s supposed to be in her life. Natasha looks a little apologetic when Maria looks over to her but she shrugs it off. It’s not her fault. This was bound to happen eventually. 

“If you’re all asking different things at the same time, I can’t answer anything. But no, I don’t have any photos, and I’m not going to call them.”

With Maria not budging, a few of them shift their focus back to Natasha who seems much more willing to give them bits and pieces of inside knowledge. It’d be cute if it wasn’t so terribly misjudged. Maria lets them ask and lets Natasha handle it because it can’t be worse than what she’d say herself. 

The questions remain tame for a whole ten minutes before the alcohol starts catching up with people and the single men remember that the Avengers have a female member. Because of course it was going to go there eventually. Maria rubs at her temple to keep the incoming headache at bay and watches Natasha carefully. The comments and questions are getting lewder and much more rude already and she’s ready to step in. She leaves it to Natasha because this is about her and she can handle herself. Natasha hides her sigh. Some of the married men and women around them don’t. Others don’t even care. 

“You _do_ know that the Black Widow is the most dangerous one in the bunch, right?” Maria says when she gets tired of hearing them lust over Natasha. “And that you’re being extremely rude towards a woman who’s saved your sorry asses from alien and robot invasions?”

“Oh, come on, there’s no way all that stuff on the internet is true. I bet it’s just fluff to make everyone think she’s more than just eye candy,” Nick slurs loudly. “What’s she ever done that’s been useful, huh?”

Surprisingly, it’s Natasha’s hand on Maria’s thigh that rubs calming circles over her jeans and not the other way around. Also surprisingly, even the rest of the ones who’ve made comments make a face at Nick’s words, clearly uncomfortable. It’s something but it’s not enough. Not for Maria. She shares a look with Natasha, one that Natasha recognizes as a plan being put in motion. She only needs to go along for the ride. 

“Huh. Good question. Nat? What _have_ you been doing that’s been useful?”

Natasha shrugs as Maria’s words slowly sink in with the rest of them and her lips tug into a momentary smirk. She squeezes her thigh and Maria knows she’s made the right call. 

“Let’s see… Got an alien God to tell me his plans of world domination; cliché, I know, but what can you do. Closed a portal to outer space where all those damn aliens came from, stopped an evil nazi organization from taking over the world, stopped an army of crazy robots from destroying all of humanity, stopped the Hulk from smashing everything…” Natasha said, ticking each point off with a finger. “And whatever else happened before the Avengers were a thing. Did I miss anything?”

There’s silence in the gym, save for the music that’s playing, and everyone stares at the both of them. Maria feels vindicated and Natasha enjoys the looks on everyone’s faces. She doesn’t give anyone a chance to recover and say something and gets up instead, holding her hand out to Maria with a grin on her face. 

“Dance with me?”

Maria laughs a little at the twinkle in Natasha’s eyes but accepts. Natasha pulls her up and they move away from the still stunned crowd to dance to the terrible pop music that’s on. Maria decides to tune everyone else out. She’s put Natasha on the spot without really meaning to. 

“Sorry about that. All of that.”

“It’s fine,” Natasha promises, moving her arms around Maria’s neck. 

Maria fits her own around Natasha’s waist and pulls her a little closer so they don’t have to raise their voices too much. She has to admit it’s quite nice to hold Natasha this close. 

“It’s not. You shouldn’t have to deal with comments like that. The team would fall apart without you. It’s not fair that you get reduced to nothing but your looks.”

Natasha hums. She’s used to it. That doesn’t mean she likes it but it no longer surprises her. She doesn’t have the stature of a superhero, especially next to Steve and Thor who are easily twice her size in muscles alone. But Natasha knows she’s earned her place among them, just like Maria has. They’re both an important part of the Avengers and Natasha doesn’t care who knows it. She does her part and she still prefers doing it from the shadows. 

“I bet you’re going to regret introducing yourself as my girlfriend now.”

This time Natasha laughs quietly and glances at the crowd of dumbstruck people several feet away. 

“Right now they’re still processing the bomb you just dropped on them. They’ll all have forgotten. Give it another five minutes and watch them connect the dots between everything. It’ll have been plenty worth it just to see their faces when they realize you’re dating the Black Widow,” Natasha smirks, amused. 

“Oh my God, Nat…”

Natasha shrugs innocently and keeps watching the others. Maria follows her example. They are all staring quite dumbly, save for a few of the spouses that are there. Some just watch the two women dance and Natasha moves a little closer to Maria. It catches Maria’s attention and she shifts her focus back to her, watching her quietly. She still wonders why Natasha’s chosen the girlfriend cover. She doesn’t want to ask though, at least not here. Maybe she will when they get back to the hotel but, honestly, it’s not pressing. 

“You’re a terrible dancer,” Natasha smiles. 

Maria huffs and tightens her hold on her with a playful glare. 

“This isn’t dancing. We’re not actually dancing, Nat. We’re moving badly to bad music from the 90’s.”

“I like the music,” she mumbles and it makes Maria smile. 

“Alright, so the music maybe isn’t that awful but we’re still not exactly dancing. I’ll have you know that I _can_ dance.”

Maria is suddenly distracted by Natasha’s fingers brushing against her neck and her pulse jumps for a moment. Natasha just smiles and nods back towards Maria’s old classmates. Most of them have recovered by now and are watching the two curiously while others have picked up previous conversations. Maria is no longer the center of attention, at least not for everyone, and it makes her relax further. 

“See? Perplexed. It’s funny.”

“It is a little funny,” Maria admits. 

Natasha pulls back just enough so they can actually dance a bit better, and it doesn’t take long for some of the other couples to join them. They dance for ten more minutes before grabbing another drink and sitting down to talk to the more civilized people around. At least when they ask about their relationship, which is so much more interesting to everyone now, the questions remain polite and not any weirder than regular _how did you meet_ ones. They keep it pretty simple and accurate, save for the part about how they got together, which Natasha wings easily. 

“I came to see her after a mission went south and fell asleep in her bed,” she starts. 

Maria actually recalls that happening once but from what she remembers it was more that Natasha went to the wrong room and crashed there. 

“And then I asked her to dinner the next morning. She said yes, obviously, ‘cause we’re here now.”

Cindy awes in her too high pitched voice and Maria smiles to keep up appearances. Honestly at this point there’s no more need to keep up the pretense but Natasha’s enjoying herself so why not? And anyway, it keeps people from hitting on Natasha. That’s always an additional plus for her. Most people aren’t terribly tasteful when trying to flirt with Natasha and Maria is tired of having to witness it. It doesn’t happen often, to be fair, but it doesn’t need long to get old. 

“Who wouldn’t say yes?” 

Maria chuckles and Natasha grins at the thrown-in statement. Maria has never really thought about it. Obviously Natasha is gorgeous and smart but Maria’s so focused on work that she doesn’t really have time to work out whether or not she’s attracted to anyone. Natasha _is_ attractive; of course she is. Maria isn’t blind. It’s taken a long time for them to even become friends though and she hasn’t considered more than that. If Natasha happens to actually be interested, well, Maria’s never noticed. She doubts she would be able to unless Natasha wanted her to. Maria is good at reading people, and getting much better at figuring out Natasha too, but she’s not that good yet. She hopes to be one day. 

“Well, you are still cute together,” Jessica repeats. “And I think it’s pretty amazing too. I imagine saving the world can get pretty lonely so it’s good to have someone with you.”

“It is,” Natasha agrees. 

She means it too. Now that she has people she can call her friends and even family, she never wants to go back to a world without them. Maria is a part of that too, though not the way they’re currently presenting it. Maria smiles at her. It’s obvious that the agreement is genuine and it’s nice to see that part of Natasha. She can play the cover but Maria thinks it’s a deliberate choice to show this side with her around. She appreciates it. 

A few people start leaving a little later and some others ask if anyone wants to hit a few bars or get late dinner together. About half of them are willing to come along but others have to get home or back to their hotels. Maria and Natasha don’t join any of the groups. As the gym empties and people say their goodbyes, the two of them head out as well. 

They go back to their hotel and Maria drops into her bed almost right away. All in all, the whole thing’s gone over a lot better than she’s expected it to. She largely contributes this to Natasha. Maria sits up on her bed and runs her fingers through her hair with a sigh. She’s tired. 

“Thank you,” Natasha says. “For letting me come with you.”

Natasha sits down on her own bed and smiles at Maria. She tucks a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear while she watches her. 

“You know I gotta ask. Why the girlfriend cover?”

“I wasn’t going to, at first. I figured I could keep it until someone did something stupid and it’d be an easy out. Keep people from trying to hit on either one of us,” Natasha shrugs.

“But then you didn’t.”

“Then I didn’t. It seemed like the easiest thing to go with, all considering.”

“It was, too, I think. Thank you, by the way. It’s certainly been a lot more fun with you than I think I’d have had on my own. I appreciate that.”

Natasha hums and smiles and Maria knows the appreciation goes both ways. Natasha’s had fun tonight, probably more than Maria herself. 

“I’m gonna go change and try to get some sleep. These people exhausted me more than Tony does on a good day.”

Natasha laughs to that but nods and leaves Maria the bathroom. She takes the time to change while Maria is in there to do the same. 

“I had fun, by the way,” Natasha says loudly enough to be heard through the closed door. 

“Looked like it. Hope you enjoyed learning more about me. Not that they had much to say.”

“No but it said enough. And the yearbook did plenty of talking too.”

Maria groans and then opens the door to roll her eyes at her and get back to her bed. Natasha has enjoyed the yearbook a little too much as far as Maria is concerned. 

“You were cute.”

“I was not,” Maria argues again. 

Natasha tilts her head and then a grin spreads across her face. Maria has seen that one on her plenty of times but it’s not been directed at her very often yet. She’s not sure what to expect. 

“You were. And I may or may not have photo evidence to support my claims in front of the rest of the team.”

Maria’s eyes widen for a moment. Natasha wouldn’t. Except, yes, she most definitely would have found a moment to take a picture and she would also most definitely use it against her. She’s not so sure that Natasha would actually involve the rest of the Avengers but it’s a risk she’s not willing to take. Tony would be insufferable for the rest of eternity. 

“Fine. What do you want?”

For a moment, Natasha looks surprised but she covers it up quickly with a confident and smug little grin. Maria likes those better when they’re not directed at her. 

“How about dinner?”

Maria pauses and blinks. She needs a moment to sort through that. She’s not tipsy but she is tired and all kinds of exhausted from the reunion. It’s not _just_ dinner. Not after what Natasha said earlier about how they got together. She’s asking her out. Or maybe it’s Maria who is supposed to do the asking out right now. She’s not sure. She’s not really thought about it, even after pretending to date her for the past few hours. It feels like a big decision to make, somehow. 

Natasha is still waiting but her expression hasn’t changed which Maria thinks is a good sign. She’s taking her sweet time with this after all and the last thing she wants to see on Natasha’s face is some kind of disappointment. She makes her decision when she realizes. Pretending to be Natasha’s girlfriend all evening has been really nice if she’s being honest about it and even if she’s never really thought about more, she knows she likes Natasha’s company. She’s also not above admitting that holding her close felt a lot nicer than it has any right to. 

“Dinner sounds nice, actually.”

“Sure? You can’t take it back later.”

“Yeah but neither can you,” Maria grins. 

Natasha laughs and Maria’s grin morphes into a warm smile. Of all the things that could have happened tonight, it’s safe to say that she’s not been expecting this. 

“Get some sleep, Natasha. We can sort dinner out on the way back tomorrow.”

Natasha hums and gets under the covers of her bed, and then watches Maria do the same. This isn’t why she wanted to come along but she likes the outcome a lot. Maria does too, and she’s certainly looking forward to that dinner date with Natasha now. 


End file.
